Noida boy secures AIR 16, aspires to become a surgeon

NOIDA: At 1.4 lakh, the state has the maximum number of qualifying candidates in the country in the 2023 National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). The results were declared Tuesday.
Ranked 16, Shubham Bansal, a student of Visva Bharati Public School, Noida, is the only student from UP in the top 20 list. Bansal (18) has scored 715 out of 720, with a 99.99 percentile. “I started my NEET preparation from Class 11 and took coaching from a private coaching centre. However, the all-India 16 rank was beyond my expectations. I now want to pursue MBBS and decide on my specialisation later,” said Bansal, adding that he wants to become a surgeon.
His father, RK Bansal, a psychiatrist, said, “We were not expecting this. But he used to study for over 10 hours a day. His mother and I are in the psychology field. Our son, however, wants to become a surgeon.”
This year, UP has seen a rise in the number of candidates appearing and qualifying in NEET. Of 2.6 lakh candidates who appeared for the exam from UP, 1.4 lakh qualified. Last year, of 1.5 lakh students who appeared for the exam, 88,000 qualified.
At the all-India level, 11.6 lakh candidates qualified for the exam this year. A total of 20.4 lakh candidates appeared for the examination.
This time, two students – Prabhanjan J of Tamil Nadu and Bora Varun Chakravarthi of Andhra Pradesh exam with a score of 720.